Jen Merrill, Creative Editor of GHF Journey

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Jen Merrill is an Illinois-based writer, musician, marketing project manager, and gifted family advocate. The mom of two boys, she homeschooled her twice-exceptional teen through high school while happily sending his younger brother off to his high school every morning. Those days now in the past, she is settling into the somewhat quieter life of an empty-nester. She is a music educator by trade, with degrees in music education and flute performance. Long before she picked up a flute as a child, however, Jen wanted to be a writer, something that didn’t happen until she opened a Blogger account in 2006 and never looked back. Since that time, her writing has focused more on gifted families and advocacy. Her book, “If This is a Gift, Can I Send It Back?”, struck a nerve with families who suspected Jen was living in their closet. Her second book, on the needs of gifted parents and self-care, is in progress; it is taking significantly longer than anticipated because the author herself struggles mightily with self-care and has been spending a lot of time banging her head on the keyboard and hyperventilating in writerly frustration. In addition to writing on her long-time blog, Laughing at Chaos, she has published articles in the Understanding Our Gifted Journal, the 2e Newsletter, and the Huffington Post. 

Jen brings both her acquired wisdom and her experience as a teacher and mentor to her work in the service of parents, teaching them techniques and mentoring them into their own versions of success. Her goal is to support parents of gifted and twice-exceptional kids, because they are the ones doing the heavy lifting and are too often ignored, patronized, and discredited. It is her hope that her sons never have to deal with these issues when they raise their own likely gifted children.

Please join us for this event! 
You are invited to a Zoom webinar. (Link leads to the event in the GHF Forum – Member Content)
When: May 26, 2023, 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Join GHF to enjoy these interviews and more

GHF Membership is our primary source of income for this non-profit. GHF has no full-time staff and we are just looking to cover our costs. Your $49.99 membership is your way to support GHF so that we can continue to serve our community. The membership discounts are there to help you recoup the cost of your membership fee. Please visit these vendors and save.

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Harri James O’Kelley

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It’s always a great time when Harri O’Kelley is involved! Actress (Die Hard, Stumptown), award-winning writer-director, and script supervisor, with more than 30 years’ industry experience, Harri has also devoted herself to raising her three twice-exceptional kids. “I’m passionate about gifted and special needs education, so I created a grassroots effort to lend supports and create new therapies for 2e and gifted Individuals, which I call The O’Kelley Lab. It’s really just me and my kids spit balling ideas to help improve the education system or come up with new ideas for therapies or approaches for gifted and special needs education.” We disagree – it’s much more than that, and has spawned the inspiring, emotional and relatable documentary, “O’Kelley Legends: 2e Behind the Scenes,” which is continuing to raise awareness and effect change.

Please join us for this event! 
You are invited to a Zoom webinar. (Link leads to the event in the GHF Forum – Member Content)
When: April 21, 2023, 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Join GHF to enjoy these interviews and more

GHF Membership is our primary source of income for this non-profit. GHF has no full-time staff and we are just looking to cover our costs. Your $49.99 membership is your way to support GHF so that we can continue to serve our community. The membership discounts are there to help you recoup the cost of your membership fee. Please visit these vendors and save.

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Dr. Karen Arnstein

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It’s a pleasure to have Karen B. Arnstein, Ed.D., core faculty member at Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education and Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Purdue University. Karen received her doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction with a Specialization for the Gifted from the University of Denver.  She has presented to audiences at local, state, national, and international conferences on topics including twice exceptionality, classroom supports, paradigm shifts in pedagogy, identification, creating inclusive classrooms, effective differentiation, parental experience of grieving, and the effects of subtle and overt communication on 2e students (the video of her engaging and tool-filled presentation for GHF’s most recent conference can be enjoyed in the Choices library!). Dr. Arnstein currently serves as a founding IRB Committee Member for Bridges Graduate School and as Secretary of the Board for SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted). Her parenting journey with her twice-exceptional teen and life journey with a profoundly gifted spouse, motivate her to bring awareness and change to create a more inclusive society for all people.

Please join us for this event! 
You are invited to a Zoom webinar. (Link leads to the event in the GHF Forum – Member Content)
When: March 17, 2023, 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Join GHF to enjoy these interviews and more

GHF Membership is our primary source of income for this non-profit. GHF has no full-time staff and we are just looking to cover our costs. Your $49.99 membership is your way to support GHF so that we can continue to serve our community. The membership discounts are there to help you recoup the cost of your membership fee. Please visit these vendors and save.

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Dan Peters, Ph.D

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We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Dan Peters, co-founder and Executive Director of the Summit Center. He has devoted his career to the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and families, specializing in overcoming worry and fear, learning differences such as dyslexia, and issues related to giftedness and twice-exceptionality. He is passionate about helping parents and teachers to better engage children in the classroom, at home, and in life, so that they can realize their full potential. Dr. Dan is author of Make Your Worrier a Warrior: A Guide to Conquering Your Child’s Fears, and the companion book for children, From Worrier to Warrior: A Guide to Conquering Your Fears, as well as the Warrior Workbook: A Guide for Conquering Your Worry Monster. He is also co-author of Bright, Complex Kids: Supporting Their Social and Emotional Development and Boosting Your Child’s Natural Creativity, and hosts the podcast, Parent Footprint with Dr. Dan.

Please join us for this event! 
You are invited to a Zoom webinar. (Link leads to the event in the GHF Forum – Member Content)
When: February 24, 2023 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Join GHF to enjoy these interviews and more

GHF Membership is our primary source of income for this non-profit. GHF has no full-time staff and we are just looking to cover our costs. Your $49.99 membership is your way to support GHF so that we can continue to serve our community. The membership discounts are there to help you recoup the cost of your membership fee. Please visit these vendors and save.

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Jamie Heston, Homeschool Consultant

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Jamie is a proponent of self-directed learning and is passionate about helping all parents discover how to move away from school-centric thinking in order to embrace the flexibility homeschooling offers. She hosts regular free Homeschool 101 seminars and is available for individual consulting with families and speaker events – her presentation for our GHF Conversations series is so incredibly insightful, useful and down-to-earth (not to mention, available in Choices recordings!).

A beloved fixture in the gifted community, Jamie is an SF Bay Area, 15 year veteran, eclectic, secular homeschooler of two thriving gifted teens (one currently attending and one bound for UC Davis), homeschool community leader and homeschool consultant, as well as a current volunteer and former Board Member/Secretary/Treasurer for the Homeschool Association of California (HSC.org). She’s also a moderator for SF Bay Area Homeschool Network (Facebook Group), Bay Area Gifted Homeschoolers (Google Group), and the owner of Bay Area Homeschool Activity Scene (Google Group).

Please join us for this event! 
You are invited to a Zoom webinar. (Link leads to the event in the GHF Forum – Member Content)
When: January 20, 2023 12:30pm Pacific / 3:30pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Join GHF to enjoy these interviews and more

GHF Membership is our primary source of income for this non-profit. GHF has no full-time staff and we are just looking to cover our costs. Your $49.99 membership is your way to support GHF so that we can continue to serve our community. The membership discounts are there to help you recoup the cost of your membership fee. Please visit these vendors and save.

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